This is an account of life at the Rushey Hill Caravan Park on the cliffs at Peacehaven, Sussex from the 1960's to the great  storm or ' Hurricane' of October 1987. Written by residents Alfred Langrish and his partner Marge. It  records the changes to the site and the  dramatic events of the Great Storm.

Alfred Langrish completed his 12 years Naval service and returned home. He had divorced his wife and made a new home in a caravan on the cliff top caravan site in Peacehaven. He writes:

' We will start off at 1960 with Marge and Alf; We had known each other from many years before when we had both worked at CVA's Engineering factory at Coombe Road, Brighton. After which we settled in two caravans at the Rushey Hill Caravan Park, our vans close together. The site then was in a fairly primitive state, water was outside, no electricity on site, wash houses up the road, another down to the cliff top.
Our warden was Mr Akehurst, a real old countryman who carried our gas bottles on his shoulder. No power mowers then, we used to cut the grass with a scythe. Us old pioneers consisted of a few residents and some people who we saw only in the summer.

Our summer routine was laying out our gardens between our vans and making our two ponds, link together with a small waterfall and our made up Chinese bridge and trellis for climbers.

Summer jobs were painting our roofs silver and the sides green, then came the worst job, on boiler suits, a big tin of grease and a big paint brush crawl under, lay on your back and slap the grease on the chassis by now having endured the winter gales, snow and iced up at times. We had learned a few tricks. Wooden blocks under the axles just enough to keep within the law and be mobile. Blocks and wedges between the spring straps and the chassis’ to take the roll sideways 6 foot angle irons sledged into the ground and lashed down with heavy wire bonds. So in the winters you could feel less body movement. Not too nervous of blowing over of course no one expected a hurricane to turn up one day.

We were sometimes encased in snow and ice in the winter with our two cats, a Burmese and Siamese snug indoors. Snow outside 2 foot deep; one time we were cut off for 3 weeks. We had a TV running off car batteries in boxes with handles, one in use and one down the hill in the garage on charge. These had to be carried up and down the hill in the snow on a sledge in winter times.

Then came the change! Civilization moved in when the site was sold to a private owner who wanted to add more vans and van sites consequently away went peace and quite and in came the heavy gang with bull dozers and big lorries. New roads, new concrete slabs, power and water pipes, new modern vans, car parks and so on.